Teacher's Pet
by Gemmika
Summary: What if Fumino and Teppei had never been taken in by Sensei? What if Tomoyuki had come back immediately from France and raised them? How would Kazuma and Fumino's relationship have developed? A "what if" au collection of drabbles and one shots. (Rated M for later chapters)
1. Sweet as Candy

A/N: Hello all! It's been a little while since I posted anything for this absolutely lovely couple, but while talking to my fandom bestie last night, we came up with some ideas and decided to do a story swap. I'll be writing an alternate version of Faster than a Kiss where Kazuma never took in Fumino and Teppei, but they still managed to fall in love anyway... and she'll be writing an alternate series of events for Love so Life. Anyway, look forward to some altered favorite scenes, and quite possibly a handful of original scenes as well.

 **Sweet as Candy**

"I can't mess this up."

Kazuma leaned against the water fountain around the back of Kumaneko High School, trying to suck in deep breaths of the fresh air so he could clear his head. In less than half an hour, he had to get up in front of the whole school and give a speech as a brand new teacher. Just thinking about all those faces made his breathing quicken, and he fought to stave off a full blown panic attack.

How had he ever thought that a thug like him could turn a new leaf and become a teacher? He had no reference for what made a good teacher except for Maeda Sensei… and even he hadn't been around long enough to give him any pointers. Was it possible that he was making a huge mistake? Would the students be able to see through his anxiety and know how terrified he was of screwing everything up? Could he even teach kids this age properly?

Pain tightened his chest as the doubts began to weigh on him, and he wondered if it was too late to fake sick and hide in the nurse's office until the opening ceremony was over.

"...are you okay?" An oddly husky female voice came from behind him, and he managed to pull himself together enough so he could face her. He was surprised to see that it was a student. From the sound of her voice, he had expected one of the other teachers. "Ah, new teacher," she said with a dubious sort of stare.

He couldn't quite tell her age from her appearance, mostly because the frown made her deep brown eyes positively fierce. Though, from the very proper way she wore her uniform, he would guess a first year. Not like it mattered what year she was, it was almost time for the entrance ceremony and she was slipping out the back door of the school.

"Yeah, are you skipping?" It wasn't the smoothest response, but he was lucky he had been able to say anything at all with his stomach as tied up in knots as it was. Then he pointed out the obvious. "The entrance ceremony is about to begin."

"No, I'm heading home. My uncle finally arrived from France." She said this as if he would understand what she was talking about. He didn't.

"Your uncle?"

Instead of responding to his question, she pulled a piece of candy out of her pocket and tossed it to him. When he managed to catch it, despite his surprise, she grinned at him. Kazuma felt his heart skip a beat at the sight of that smile. It made her face which had seemed sullen a moment before, radiate with happiness. The girl was actually _very_ pretty. He had always been partial to brunettes, and her long, curly, chestnut hair was very appealing. It made him feel bad for her parents. They were going to have to beat off the boys on a daily basis.

"Thank of the candy as a lucky charm," she suggested, her eyes twinkling in a way that let him know she understood exactly the reason he was out behind the school. "Eat that when your speech goes well."

With a casual wave, she disappeared through the back gates, leaving him to stare at the piece of candy she had given him. A good luck charm, huh? Somehow, he did feel better about his speech… but he wasn't sure the piece of candy was why.

Kazuma walked back into the school, stuffing the candy into his jacket pocket and holding his head high. He could picture the girl's smile in his head, and somehow felt as though he might actually be able to do this teaching thing after all.


	2. Ojiro and Kaji

**Ojiro and Kaji**

It had taken him over an hour, but finally Kazuma had tracked down his wayward student.

Directly after school there had been a supplementary exam for the students who had failed his English test earlier that week and everyone had shown up for it except Koizumi. After the other students had finished the exam, Kazuma had spoken with the other first year teachers _and_ some of the administration before finding out that Koizumi was part of the Judo club. All of that led him to where he was now, standing in front of the gym doors, watching as one of the club members put the others through their paces.

Kazuma scanned the room for his missing student, and located the boy near the back of the room. Perfect. It would be easy to sneak in and drag the boy away without bothering any of the others. It wasn't the rest of the Judo club's fault that Koizumi had skipped out on his make up exam, and Kazuma had no intention of ruining the meeting. He just had a duty to make sure his students were doing their best… and missing tests definitely wasn't something he was going to allow.

Quietly he crept into the room, trying not to catch anyone's notice. Her had only gotten a few steps inside before the student at the front stopped the drills and called out to him. "Hey! We're trying to have a club practice here. Can I help you with something?"

Caught and with no way out but the truth, Kazuma held up his hands in a defensive posture and then pointed to Koizumi. "One of your club members skipped out on a supplementary exam. I need to borrow him until he makes up the work."

Dark eyes from all around the room narrowed at the student in question, and Kazuma had to hide his smile. It seemed as though his team members didn't appreciate Koizumi missing the exam either, how lucky for him!

"Is that true, Koizumi?" The student at the front of the room stared down the offending member, his eyes narrowing and his lips pulling into an annoyed frown.

Koizumi hung his head and nodded, not daring to look any of the others in the face.

"All right, I'll just take him then. When your club instructor gets back, let him know that Ojiro from class 1-C has him. I'll explain the situation to him later," Kazuma promised, moving toward his student to usher him out of the room.

"I think you're a little confused, Ojiro. I'm the judo instructor here," the student at the front of the room said seriously, his eyes focused and betraying no hint of deception. Before Kazuma could even muster up a response to that, the 'instructor' pointed toward the edge of the room where a girl sat with a young boy in her lap. "We only have twenty minutes left in our practice, so wait over against the wall until we're done. You can have Koizumi then."

Because his tone left no room for argument, Kazuma did as he said and walked away from the floor where the club was practicing their stances. As he did so, he realized that he recognized the girl sitting against the wall. It was Kaji Fumino, the girl who had given him the piece of candy on the first day of school. Even though she was in his last period English class, he hadn't had a chance to thank her yet for what she had done for him. He supposed that now was as good a time as any.

"Hello, Kaji-san. Are you waiting for someone too?" He plopped down on the floor next to her, a warm smile on his lips.

She seemed surprised, her chocolate brown eyes wide and hesitant. "You know, Tomo-kun doesn't like his practices to be interrupted. I can't believe he didn't kick you out."

Tomo-kun? Was that the instructor who looked like one of the students? And why did Kazuma feel a twinge of jealousy at the familiar way she referred to him? It wasn't as though he even knew the girl very well, having just spoken to her the one time before today. Besides that, she was just a student, right? Albeit a kind, thoughtful student with a heartbreaking smile and legs that went on for days…

He shook his head, trying to remove that last thought from his mind. The girl was fifteen and he was a teacher. Traitorous thoughts like that needed to be quashed immediately.

"Tomo-kun? Is that who you're waiting on?" He tried to sound interested without being overly interested. Just a casual conversation between a teacher and his student after school hours.

She nodded, her eyes warming as she looked toward the front of the class at the instructor. "He's our Uncle. He took in Teppei and I after our parents died a few months ago."

The relief that he felt at the word " _Uncle_ " was overwhelming, but he tried not to dwell on that feeling. Instead, he glanced down to take in the small boy curled up in her lap. He looked to be about preschool age, with darker hair than his sister and round curious eyes. The boy was easily the cutest Kazuma had ever seen. The urge to scoop him up and give him a hug was strong and barely possible to ignore.

What was up with these siblings? Were they giving off some kind of adorable pheromone or something that broke down all his defenses? It was dangerous.

"Buncha? Who is he?" The little boy pointed to him, his eyes even more curious than before, and Kazuma felt taken aback. The boy looked shy, but he was quite blunt. Maybe he got that from his sister. He hadn't spent long enough as her teacher yet to know if that was the case.

"Teppei, this is Ojiro Sensei, my English teacher," Kaji said politely, gesturing between the two males. Kazuma couldn't help but notice the way her hair swung around her shoulders as she moved. It was very feminine and attractive. It definitely wasn't helping him remember that she was his student.

Teppei stared up at him, his eyes narrowing as he looked over the older man. "Ojiro Sensei?" The words sounded difficult in his small voice. Kazuma smiled and leaned forward to poke the boy's nose with the tip of his finger.

"My friends call me Ma-kun. Do you like that better?"

A giggle issued from the child's lips and he nodded. "Ma-kun!"

Kazuma couldn't help but grin at the delight on Teppei's face. The child was an absolute angel. Unfortunately, his sister didn't seem to know how to react to his sudden friendliness with a stranger, because she was frowning at the pair of them.

"You could always call me Ma-kun too, if you like," he suggested, a playful smile on his lips, "but not in front of the other students, all right?"

Fumino's eyes shot to his, her eyebrows raised so high that they disappeared under her bangs. She looked at him as if he had grown a third eye right in front of her. "Wha-?!"

The expression on her face was just too funny, he couldn't hold in the bark of laughter that came spilling out of him. "Sorry for laughing, Kaji-san, but that was just too funny. I never thought I'd see an expression like that. But don't worry, I was only teasing."

Well… half teasing. He honestly wouldn't have minded if she called him by his nickname. That meant she would have to see him out of school hours, which was doubtful, but it was still an appealing thought.

"You aren't as serious as you seem to be in class." Her dark eyes looked him over, lingering on his smile. "I expected you to be really strict."

"I have to present myself as an authority figure in class. If I joke around too much, the students won't take their studies seriously. I don't want a whole class full of Koizumi's." He gestured to the student in question, and Fumino smirked.

"I suppose that's true. But I think it's nice to know that you can laugh like this. My dad had a laugh a lot like yours," she said, her voice turning soft and wistful when she mentioned her father.

Silence fell between them after that, as if speaking of her recently deceased father had brought her back into herself. He watched with curious eyes as she hugged her brother closer to her chest, and let her hair fall around her face to hide her. As someone who had dealt with his share of loss, he hated to see his student retreat like that. If she wasn't careful, she would end up like he had. Kazuma didn't want that for her. He didn't want that for _any_ of his students. It was why he had followed in Maeda Sensei's footsteps and become a teacher. He wanted to stop kids from falling into the same situation he had been in. Maybe that was why he was drawn to her, he could see echoes of his former self in her eyes and he wanted to save her from that. It was easier to swallow than him being attracted to a fifteen year old girl, that was for sure.

"You know, I've been meaning to thank you for the good luck charm you gave me on the first day of school."

He tossed out the words casually, as if it hadn't saved him that first day. When she peeked through her curtain of hair to meet his eyes, warmth flooded through him. It wasn't much, but he had managed to bring her out of her somber thoughts for a moment.

"It was just a piece of candy," she scoffed, her gruff words belied by the smile that was lifting the corners of her mouth. "I keep a bunch on me for Teppei."

"You were the first person at the school who noticed I was nervous and not that confident. You reached out to me and you gave me a warm and beautiful smile. I would say it was much more than a piece of candy," he argued.

A slight blush colored Fumino's cheeks, and she leaned away from him, hugging Teppei tight again. For the boy's age, he was perceptive. Kazuma watched as the child looked back and forth between them, and then gave him a smile so wide that he closed his eyes to do it.

"Does Ma-kun think Buncha is pretty?"

Innocent words from a child, but they made Kazuma's heart skip a beat. He noticed that Fumino's attention was suddenly focused very hard on the judo club running through their cool down routine, though he knew she was listening hard for his response. It took all his composure to work his mouth into a straight face, but he managed it and then he leaned forward toward Teppei as if imparting an important secret.

"She's very pretty," he said honestly, seeing no reason to lie. It wasn't as though he was propositioning her, just paying an honest compliment.

The blush on her cheeks darkened and she buried her face in Teppei's hair. The boy ignored his sister and grinned at him. "No one's prettier than Buncha," he agreed.

Kazuma didn't have time to agree or disagree, because the club meeting came to an end and the students began walking toward the locker room to shower off. "Ah, I can't let Koizumi escape again, so…" he hesitated. Was it okay to say that he wanted to see the two of them again? Was it strange or inappropriate to _want_ to see them again? They were both such warm, sweet kids. They made him yearn for a family… something he hadn't done in a long time. Though he had to wonder, why them? Was it just their smiles? Or was it something more, something he couldn't put into words?

"Hey, Ojiro-kun!"

He turned toward the boy that Fumino had called 'Tomo-kun', feeling a bit disgruntled at being called 'kun' by someone who looked to be half his age, though he knew he had to be at least twenty if he was their legal guardian. "I'm sorry I disturbed your club meeting. I'll try not to do that in the future."

The boy brushed his apology away with a wave of his hands. "It wasn't your fault, it was Koizumi's for sneaking out on his exam. I'll make sure to have a talk with him and explain that he can't participate in the tournaments if he keeps failing his exams."

Kazuma bowed respectfully, as a way of thanking him for his understanding. "I'll be off then, as soon as he comes out of the locker room. I hope I won't have to bother you again."

"Ma-kun should come back tomorrow!" Teppei said this loudly, his face completely taken over by a wide and happy smile. "He's nice."

Both Kazuma and Tomo-kun turned to look at him, surprise in their eyes.

"Teppei, don't bother Sensei," Fumino admonished him gently, "he has a lot of work to do. He can't just come and play with you after school."

Tomo-kun was quiet for a long moment as he sized up the taller man. Suddenly he broke into a grin that matched his nephew's and he clapped Kazuma on the shoulder. "If Teppei likes you, you can come around again, Ojiro-kun! Anyone who can make these two smile is a friend in my book."

"Tomo-kun!" Fumino blushed again, averting her eyes from Kazuma in her embarrassment. "You can't just say things like that! Don't you have any shame?"

Kazuma spied Koizumi coming out of the locker rooms at that moment, and he turned an apologetic smile on the group. "I'm sorry to run, but I have to catch my wayward student before he skips out the door on me for a second time."

"Come by anytime!"

"Uncle!" Fumino cried out, her embarrassment sending her voice into a higher octave.

Kazuma covered his mouth to hide his smile as he turned from them and chased down his student. Somehow, he couldn't even manage to lecture the boy as they headed back to the English Language Resource room. Getting to see Kaji-san again, and meeting her precious younger brother kind of made it all worth it.

Not that he would tell Koizumi that.


	3. Family Friend

A/N: For my fandom bestie Shannon on her birthday! I hope you enjoy blushing Fumino ;) Happy Birthday, my love!

Fumino would never be able to explain how it had happened, but somehow by the time the summer of her first year in high school had rolled around, her English teacher had become a close family friend.

It seemed as though Teppei had developed an attachment to him after their first meeting, and he had bugged her to invite "Ma-kun" back to play with them. She had tried to hold out, but it was impossible to deny her younger brother anything, so she had passed on his message to Sensei. From that day, he had come by the judo club after school every day that he was able. It was surprising the change that had on Teppei, but it couldn't be denied. Under a new friend's constant smile and warm manner, the boy had bloomed. There wasn't a day that went by where he wasn't smiling and laughing. Tomo-kun had noticed it as well, and welcomed the other man into their family dynamic with open arms. Her teacher had even started having dinner with them once a week!

Fumino was the only one with reservations.

The situation might be different if he didn't act so differently between his "teacher" persona, and the one he showed just to her family. It made her wonder which was the real him. Was it the strict, but casually friendly teacher? Or was he really the silly, affectionate, and complimentary man? It was a question that concerned her far more than it should have.

"Kaji-san? Is everything all right?"

She jumped as the object of her thoughts peeked around the wall that separated the kitchen from the living room. Sensei was smiling, though his brows were creased with concern.

"Um… it's fine. Everything is fine!" The words spilled from her in a rush as her cheeks grew pink from embarrassment. She had been so focused on what he meant to her family that she had zoned out when she was supposed to be getting plates for their dinner. It was no wonder he had come looking for her! She _should_ have been back in the living room shortly after she left it.

"Do you need help with the plates? I can reach them if it's a problem," he suggested, moving into the room and stepping up behind her so he could reach the dinnerware shelved above her head.

"Ah!" Fumino froze as his body pressed against her back, sending little shivers of electricity coursing through her. His chest was wide, and she could feel all the hard planes of his muscles pressing against her through the thin cotton of their shirts. The heat and awareness of him as a man surprised her more than the initial contact had, mostly because she had never felt anything like it before. He wasn't just a teacher or a family friend, he was an adult male. An adult male that was pressed up tight against her body.

She was surprised that she didn't spontaneously combust.

"I'll just take these out to the living room," he hefted the plates with a smile as he stepped away from her. "And, Kaji-san, if you need to talk about anything, I hope you know that I'm here for you. We're friends, right?"

Fumino's lip quivered as tears threatened to spill over her eyelids. Friends? Did he really see her that way? She was one of his students and the only thing she had connecting them besides that was her being Teppei's older sister. Was it really possible that he still saw her as someone close to him outside of those things?

And _why_ did that thought make her so happy? Was it because this side of him suddenly felt the most real? Was it because she was still in shock over their closeness a few moments before? Why were her emotions so unstable when it came to him?

"T-t-thank you," she mumbled, bowing her head to him, "but I don't want to trouble you."

He reached out and tilted her chin up with strong fingers, forcing her to look into his face. The smile on his lips was softer than it had been, his eyes seeming to gaze right into the heart of her. "It's no trouble. I really like you guys, and I hope that someday you'll come to trust me. Until then, I'll be waiting right here, okay?"

Her heart pounded painfully against her ribs at the word " _like_." "Okay," she nodded, feeling the heat of a blush covering her cheeks. "Thank you again."

"All right, let's go eat. Tomo-kun might get annoyed if we take any longer. We don't want the food to get cold, do we?"

Fumino forced a smile and followed behind Sensei as they walked back into the living room. She wasn't sure, but she wondered if maybe she needed to give him more of a chance. With that gentle smile he couldn't be all bad. Though she _would_ try to keep a respectable distance between them from now on. It was too embarrassing to know that a simple touch had her thinking so many strange things and blushing like a girl with her first crush.

Not that it meant anything... It was probably just because it was the first time she had been that close to a non-family male. It had surprised her is all. _It didn't mean anything._

Right?


	4. Important

Fumino stared out the large wall of glass, not taking in the gorgeous mountain scenery, but brooding about all the events that had led up to this trip. Honestly, she wasn't even sure why she was _there_ _._ Wasn't this a trip for the Judo club?

"Kaji san?"

She flinched, but didn't turn around. Ever since they had arrived at the hot spring earlier that morning for the Judo club training camp, she had been hounded by Ojiro sensei everywhere she turned. He seemed to think that because she, Teppei and he weren't part of the rest of the groups activities, they should do something fun together. Her little brother had been so excited to spend time with "Ma-kun," but she was even more nervous around him _now_ than she used to be. Ever since that accidental brush of their bodies in the kitchen, she was barely able to look him in the eye. It had been such a strange flash of heat that she still didn't know how to make sense of it. Until she could, she had resolved to interact with him as little as possible… but somehow he had ended up coming with them on this little trip, and she _still_ couldn't wrap her head around how that had happened.

For some reason when the plans were made to take the Judo members on a training retreat, Ojiro sensei had been asked to drive a second van in order to fit all the students who were going. Fumino wasn't sure if he was one of the only teacher's with a license, or if he was just the one closest to Tomo kun with the needed requirements. Whatever it was, he had been roped into the job and so had Fumino and Teppei, as Tomo kun hadn't wanted to leave them alone at home during the three day two night camp.

"Buncha, shopping!"

The sound of Teppei's voice did what Ojiro sensei's could not. She turned around to acknowledge that the two of them were there, and then instantly regretted it.

"Why are you in a yukata?!" Her voice rose several octaves, becoming a shrill screech as she took in the lean body of her teacher in so little fabric. Unconsciously she moved away from him, the memory of his strong, muscular chest and boiling body heat caused her brain to demand that she get as far away from his as fast as possible. Unfortunately she was sitting in one of the chairs in the foyer, and instead of running away, she leaned back hard enough to topple her over.

Mortified, she remained frozen to the spot, unsure of what to do. Thankfully she wasn't wearing a skirt, but her legs were still sticking up in the air and she was gasping for breath from the shock of falling over. Of course, she wasn't just embarrassed about falling over, though that was sure to be enough to bring a blush to her cheek for weeks whenever she thought of it. No, the most embarrassing thing was her reaction to seeing him in a yukata. If it had been any other teacher she probably wouldn't have even noticed, but with him she noticed all too much. She was too aware of him… and what did that mean for her?

"Are you all right? We didn't mean to surprise you, Kaji san."

Her teacher held out his hand to her, his lips pulled up in a warm smile, but his eyes creased with worry. She ignored the hand, her cheeks flushing as she thought of that heat again. If she let him help her up, and just the contact of his hand was enough to make her heart race, what was she supposed to do? It was better not to know and pretend like it wasn't a problem.

"I'm fine," she snapped to hide her embarrassment. "I was just surprised. I can get up on my own."

It took a minute of shimmying and twisting into uncomfortable positions, but Fumino managed to push the chair back upright and get back on her feet. Averting her gaze from Ojiro sensei, she patted herself down to make sure all her clothes were in the right position and then she turned her attention on Teppei.

"Did you want to go shopping in the little town nearby? I think they have a candy store."

Teppei lifted up his arms and she scooped him into her embrace as naturally as breathing. Once he was settled on her hip, he gave her a grin so wide he closed his eyes. "I want mochi."

She chuckled and cuddled him close. "I think we can manage a piece or two. Let's get going." Sparing a glance for Sensei, she fought to keep in a sigh. "You should probably change out of your yukata if you want to come."

"Why? We're at a hot springs, aren't we? Isn't the point to enjoy the yukata and wear it wherever you go?" He was beaming at her in that 'good natured close friend' way he had. It was the part that continued to baffle her, even though she tried to come to terms with it. She still couldn't figure out if she was actually a friend or not. He had said she was… but was it really true? Maybe he was playing with her?

Shrugging as though it made no difference to her (though if she was honest, the way the thin fabric hung on his body was extremely distracting), Fumino made her way through the front foyer and out the doors of the lodge. Sensei followed close behind them, so close that she could almost feel his breath on her neck as they walked down the path to the nearby town. It was even more distracting than the damn yukata.

Teppei kept up a string of conversation as they walked through the village. It wasn't as surprising as it used to be. When he was around his 'Ma-kun' he was a bubbly, energetic child who spoke at a mile a minute. It was definitely the best part about his involvement in their life, even if just looking into his eyes for a moment at a time had her blushing from the tips of her toes to the roots of her hair. She was trying desperately to deny what that meant, but every minute she spent at his side was making it more and more clear to her.

"You know," he said conversationally, leaning over her shoulder so his lips were almost pressed against her ear, "I think you would look nice in a yukata too."

She spun around quickly, her hair whipping around her face like a typhoon. "What do you mean by that?!"

His eyes widened in surprise, but it quickly gentled into a soft smile. "Just that you are on vacation. It would be nice to see you enjoying yourself for once and not pushing yourself so hard. I see everything you do for your brother, and I respect it a lot. I would just like to see the Fumino that smiles more, that's all. You have such a lovely smile."

A flushed crept up her cheeks, burning her skin as his words set in. He respected her? He wanted to see her smile? Was that all true? Could she believe all the things he said?

"I'm just another student of yours," she pointed out, her voice cracking as she tried to hide her red cheeks behind Teppei. "Why do you even care about what I'm doing?"

Hurt flashed through his eyes, making him draw back a step. There was such loneliness in his gaze, as though he was looking at something far, far away. Her heart clenched painfully at the sight of that dramatic reaction. She had never meant to make him look that way! Why had her words affected him so much?

"You aren't just another student," he said slowly, as though choosing his words very carefully. "I consider your family to be my family. You are the closest thing I have… the most I've _ever_ had. It makes you much more than just a student. To me, you are irreplaceable."

She tried not to read too much into the words, tried not to see what she wanted to see, but it was difficult to force herself to face the fact that it wasn't _her_ exactly, but the fact that she was simply part of the whole. Finally, she forced a smile. "You are important to us too."

Frustration flared in his eyes, turning them dark for a moment. Scared, she held Teppei tighter, but couldn't bring herself to walk away. Somehow she knew that something important was flowing between them, though she couldn't explain why she thought that was the case.

"I care about _you_ , Fumino. Separately from your family. Teppei kun and Tomo kun didn't smile, give me candy and wish me luck on my first day of school… _you_ did. Before I even met the other two, you were important to me."

Heat washed through her at his oh so warm words and familiar use of her first name. It was very similar to the heat she felt when he had brushed up against her in the kitchen a few days before. Because she had never really been touched by a male before, she hadn't realized what it was, but looking into his eyes now, she suddenly understood completely. She wasn't just aware of him as a man, she wasn't just confused by him as a person… she was _attracted_ to him. How in the world had that happened? And now that she knew, how was she supposed to hide it from him?

The water was a soothing heat on her skin as she slid into the hot springs later that evening. Between chasing Teppei around the small town and trying to keep herself from spilling all the new feelings bursting inside of her to Sensei, Fumino was completely exhausted. Probably even more so than the Judo club members who had been put through their paces in the mountains all day by her strict uncle. Sure, they all complained of sore muscles and tired feet, but she doubted they would ever understand the emotional exhaustion of realizing you have feelings for someone you shouldn't and having no idea how to keep that secret hidden.

It would be so much easier if she didn't see him every single day.

She sank into the water up to her nose, trying to calm her thoughts after her difficult day. At least in here she could be alone to think about what she should do next. Sensei had kindly offered to bring Teppei into the men's hot spring with him and Tomo kun, and she had readily agreed. Fumino loved her younger brother, but she felt she always had to keep a smile on her face so as not to worry him. Being given this chance to relax and think over how she was going to deal with these feelings in the future, she was very grateful to Sensei. Somehow she needed to figure out how to forget how warm his skin felt, how hard his muscles were, the look in his eyes when he said she was important to him. There was no way he would care about her the same way she did about him, right? She was fifteen years old, a child, his student. Wouldn't it be impossible for him to share the same feelings? So… logically it would never happen, and if she didn't want to get hurt she needed to get over this as soon as she could. But how?

Tears pricked her eyes and she rubbed them away with the heel of her palm, gritting her teeth at her inability to hold her feelings in. If she couldn't even hold herself together when he wasn't around, how was she supposed to hide this when he was? Was she going to have to ignore him entirely until she could just see him as a friend of Tomo-kun's? Just the thought of that hurt made her insides ache like someone had reached inside her and twisted everything all up.

So what were her options? She was no good at lying, and she couldn't hide her feelings. Did that mean she should just come out and tell him the truth?

Her eyes widened at the idea and she sat up straight, water streaming down her face and neck. If she told him how she felt, he would ignore her on his own, wouldn't he? That way she wouldn't have to hide it any longer and his reaction, which was sure to be cold and distant, would make it easier for her to move past her feelings quickly. It would be painful, sure, but it was the best option available for her, wasn't it?

Now she just had to find the right time to tell him.

Lost in thought, Fumino walked through the hallway back to the room she was sharing with Tomo-kun and Teppei, not paying much attention to what was going on around her. Her mind was entirely focused on what she should say to Ojiro sensei the next time they spoke, if she should tell him while they were on this trip or find some time once they had gotten back home. It was all so confusing, too much for a teenage girl experiencing love for the first time. Why did it have to be him? Why couldn't it have been a fellow classmate? At least then she might have had a chance having her feelings returned.

Things would have been so much easier on her if she was in love with Ojiro sensei.

Sighing, she turned the corner in the hallway and found herself stumbling into a familiar, muscular chest. Surprised, she began to fall over backward. His arms reached out to save her, but she was too far unbalanced and they both went down, him falling right on top of her.

"Fumino san, are you okay? Did I hurt you?" His voice was frantic as he scrambled to get off of her, his eyes wide as they searched her for any kind of injury. Then, his eyes grew so big that his eyebrows almost disappeared behind the fringe of his bangs. He swallowed hard, his adam's apple bobbing violently with the movement. A hand reached out to her and then froze, pulling back. She wasn't sure what was going on until she looked down and saw that in her fall, her yukata must have come open. Now it was hanging halfway off her shoulder, exposing the side of one small breast.

Panicking, she moved to close her robe, her whole body flushing in her embarrassment. Forget telling him her feelings now. After flashing him, she would be lucky if she could ever speak to him again.

"I have to go!" She shouted, getting to her feet and attempting to rush off down the hall. After only a few steps, he caught up with her, wrapping his arms around her waist to stop her from going any farther. She struggled against him, tears trickling down her cheeks in her embarrassment, but he was too strong and she couldn't get away from him.

As he held her against his chest, she could feel the heat of his body pressed tight to hers, but more than that, she could feel the frantic racing of his heart… and it wasn't slowing down.

"I'm sorry that I saw that," he murmured, his lips against her neck as he held her still in his arms, "I never meant to make you uncomfortable with me. All I want is to see that smile of yours again, but somehow every time I get near you I frighten you. I don't want it to be like that. I want us to be friends, Fumino san. I want to be important to you the way you are to me, but if I'm scaring you… I'll stop. I won't come around for dinner or to the judo meetings. I'll stay away."

Is that what she really wanted, for him to stay away so she didn't have to feel so nervous and uncomfortable all the time? She was surprised that the answer was no. If he left and she never saw his face again except for in school, she would be even more heartbroken than if he rejected her right here and now. She wanted that time with him, wanted to create that level of closeness that he wanted as well.

It wasn't love, it was far from it, but it was still more than she had had before. All she had to say was the word, and they could start their own special friendship here and now. And who knew… it could become love someday, couldn't it? She didn't have to give up on him at all!

"Please stay," she whispered, her voice thick with her tears. "I won't run away anymore. I'll try to smile and talk with you normally… so can we be friends? Please?"

His arms hugged her tighter than they had before, and he let out a sigh of relief in her ear. "Okay, but call me Kazuma when we aren't in school, all right? When we are all together, I want you to think of me as a member of the family and not as your teacher. So, no more 'sensei'."

"Uh…" She wasn't sure she could go that far. Wasn't that fairly intimate? Did he really want them to use each other's first names when not in school? Heat burned her cheeks at the thought of that level of intimacy. Though, she somehow couldn't see herself using his nickname like Teppei and Tomo-kun did either.

"Just think about it, okay?" He let her go then, releasing her from his vice-like grip.

Fumino nodded. She would think about it. Of course she would. But for now, she needed to go and lie down. Everything had happened so quickly and she was still trying to understood what it all meant. All she knew right now was that she had made her first step toward being able to someday confess her feelings to him… and that was a step in the right direction.


End file.
